Saturday, October 22, 2016

Chocolate crisis and mango butter

I am a chocolate lover. I hope every sweet in the world will be replaced to chocolate.

But, production of chocolate is in peril now. The price of cocoa is increasing, following the increased demand for chocolate as a sweet ingredient. Cocoa butter has now the highest cost among tropical fats and oils, and its price has been doubled in this decade.

To be honest, I had not known these facts. If chocolate perishes, I would not be able to survive. No, it is a joke. But it will be my great agony not to take any chocolate anyway.

Researchers suggest that mangoes can be a substitute for cocoa butter. Mangoes have a similar chemical structure to cocoa butter, and even have some superiorities. So far, it has yet to be realized to create cocoa butter-like substance made from mangoes. But researchers are enthusiastic to solve this challenge.

It sounds fantastic. However, mangoes are also costly, at least in Japan. In the UK, I hardly saw mangoes in a supermarket, as mango is a tropical fruit. If mango butter is established, it is unsure farmers in tropical regions can increase the production of mangoes easily.

Chocolate crisis remains. I will enjoy chocolate as if it is the last opportunity.